Bovine adventures

Attentive cows east of Burwell, Nebraska - June 30, 2007

Cows continue to add entertainment to my life. When I lived on a farm on the island of Nord Hidle, Norway (spring and summer, 1971) I herded cows, milked cows, fed cows, shoveled after cows and, most excitingly, outran a bull. Several years later, as a young mother, I experienced the adrenaline rush of warding off some charging cows while Kendall whisked our boys out of harms way as we hiked along a trail that, apparently, a herd of cows did not wish to share.

During my run to Michigan I startled many a cow along the way. I suspect runners are not as common on the backroads of the heartland as we are here in Boulder. The cows pictured above were the exception to the typical skittish prairie cow. Rather than stampeding away from the oddball runner as was the norm, these cows gathered along the fence as I ran past with Paul. My theory is they were eavesdropping on Paul who was giving me a play-by-play account of the latest Spiderman movie. Either those cows love a good movie narration or Paul is a closet cow whisperer.

Today presented an entirely new cow adventure. I was running around the eastern boundary of CU-Boulder's south campus (home of the CU cross-country course) through a herd of cows - a mix of moms and juveniles - when I noticed one of the youngsters was playing with a long strip of tyvek that had blown onto the property. He'd toss it around then chew on it...and chew some more. Figuring that tyvek was pr'y not the healthiest snack for a young bull, I decided I'd best get it away from him. So I wound my way through those moms and juveniles, yannering on in my calmest voice, until I got up to the young fella. I looked him in the eye and told him I really needed to take his plaything away. He looked back at me none to pleased but, what with sign language and forceful chit chat, I convinced him to move on, leaving the tyvek behind. With many glances around to all the watching bovines, I bundled up the tyvek and marched my way out of the herd. No charging cows today. Whew!